Young and his Easybeats bandmates relocated to “swinging London” in 1966ALAMY

When George Young and four teenage friends formed the Easybeats at a Sydney migrant hostel in the early 1960s, the most famous Australian musicians at the time were the opera singer Joan Sutherland and Rolf Harris with his wobble board. Young and the Easybeats transformed the antipodean musical landscape to become Australia’s first international pop stars, forging a path followed by the Bee Gees and later by AC/DC, INXS and Nick Cave.

To youthful fans down under, the Easybeats were nothing less than Australia’s own version of the Beatles. After playing their first gigs in a Sydney basement club modelled on the Cavern in Liverpool, the group dominated the Australian charts between 1965 and 1969, scoring 14 hit singles and launching a homegrown version of…

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